The Madras High Court (HC) observed that the one-person commission’s interim report into the Vengavayal caste crime revealed “tardy investigation" by the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). The HC had appointed retired judge M Sathyanarayanan to oversee the ongoing investigation into the crime. The retired judge submitted an interim report to the HC in a sealed cover, which was perused by Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu. The bench made the observation while hearing two Public Interest Litigations seeking to transfer the probe from CB-CID to CBI on Thursday, September 14.
According to The Hindu, the bench had questioned why the interim report was submitted in a sealed cover, to which Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran had responded that the report was submitted to the state government and no one else had gone through it.
The AAG had also submitted a status report filed by the police regarding the progress made in the investigation. The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) had mentioned in the status report that 251 witnesses were examined and DNA tests were performed on 25 suspects. Of these, 21 tested negative while the results of four are yet to arrive.
The judges expressed displeasure over the slow pace of investigation, noting that the case has not been solved even after eight months and not even a single arrest has been made. The bench remarked that the retired judge’s report indicated slow investigation by the CB-CID. Asking the police to submit another progress report, the case was adjourned to November 7.
On December 24, five Dalit children in Vengavayal fell ill and were hospitalised. The doctors who treated the children alerted residents to possible contamination of drinking water, following which the residents checked the common water tank used by the Dalit residents. To their shock, they discovered that the drinking water source of the Dalit families had been contaminated with human waste.